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Medical groups want cigarette prices to rise

"The number of male and female smokers in Taiwan are about on a par with those in Europe and North America."

Michael Eriksson, professor with Georgia State University

Seventeen medical groups in Taiwan joined forces yesterday to call for increased taxes on cigarettes over the next five years to triple the price of a pack, which in turn could reduce the number of smokers by half in 10 years.

In a joint statement issued by the group urging the government to raise tobacco prices to curb the smoking population, it said that cigarette prices in Taiwan -- averaging about NT$40 (US$1.19) per pack -- are among the lowest in the world. The group suggested that the government increase tobacco taxes in stages, so that cigarette prices could be raised to about NT$150 a pack in five years.

The cost will make cigarettes less affordable to smokers, especial adolescents, the group said, which included the Taiwan Medical Association, the Formosan Medical Association and the Chinese Medical Association.

Figures compiled by the National Health Research Institutes show that almost 9 percent of boys in Taiwan's junior high schools are smokers. Together with senior high schools and vocational high schools, the rate jumps to 25 percent.

Meanwhile, in related news, Derek Yach, a former executive director with the World Health Organization (WHO), said yesterday that tobacco control is just as important as bird-flu prevention since both are global health issues requiring cross-border efforts to get optimum results.

Yach made the remarks in a keynote speech at the 2005 Global Forum for Health Leaders which opened yesterday in Taipei.

He said that battling bird flu is currently the hottest-debated issue worldwide, but so far it is unclear whether such a global pandemic will occur or, if it does, how many people will be affected.

Nevertheless, Yach said, the number of people dying from smoking and tobacco-related products averages 5 million worldwide every year.

Yach, head of the Division of Global Health at Yale University, reminded people that when they are making efforts to prevent a bird-flu pandemic, they should also advocate the idea that women and children must have access to a tobacco-free environment.

Michael Eriksson, formerly a consultant to WHO and currently a professor with Georgia State University, said, "The number of male and female smokers in Taiwan are about on a par with those in Europe and North America."

However, the number of young female smokers in Taiwan is relatively much higher, he said, stressing that the Taiwan authorities should place more importance on tobacco control.

Additional reporting by Jenny Chou
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